Microsoft angles for vacant Nintendo land

Nintendo of America has long owned a large and rare vacant property in Redmond, between its headquarters and Microsoft’s RedWest satellite campus. The company has been holding the land in reserve for potential expansion. But now, it appears that Microsoft wants to see the site become part of its own expansion plan.

Nintendo’s recent decision to move some of its employees from Redmond to New York and Silicon Valley raised questions about the future of that land. In fact, Nintendo has had the property on the market since late last year, confirmed Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, when I spoke with her at a Nintendo event this week. Despite the appearance, Kaplan said the decisions to sell the land and to move the employees weren’t related. See this story from today’s paper for more.

As you would expect, Microsoft is among the bidders. “Microsoft, of course, would bid for it, because it’s so convenient for them,” Kaplan said. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.

Microsoft is not assured of getting the site. According to a Redmond city official, Microsoft is not the only company interested in the property. Another complication is the fact that a neighborhood development cap would limit the amount of space built on the site to about 550,000 square feet. That’s enough for two relatively large buildings, but much less than the 27-acre property could actually hold.

If Microsoft were to buy the Nintendo property, as well, it would raise an interesting possibility: Nintendo of America says it plans to stay in Redmond. Its headquarters are just south of that vacant site. And one Microsoft division that occupies leased space, in another part of the city, is the Xbox group. So maybe Mario and Master Chief could go from cross-town to cross-street rivals.